People have offered some varying ideas about why Aaron Gwin is so fast, but we wanted to get some proper answers from the source. While at the Fort William World Cup, Pinkbike's Si Paton talked to Trek World Racing's Martin Whitely and Aaron himself to get the full scoop.
TWR team manager Martin Whitely discusses Aaron's eight second win at Val di Sole and gives us a bit of insight into why Aaron is riding so well.
Aaron Gwin talks about crashing in his qualifying run at Fort William, as well as training and why he thinks he manages to go so much faster than everyone else.
Video by
Charles Robertson
But then again, Aaron trains 24/7 for this, and loves doing it as well
But couldn't it be possible that it changes something? On this High-Level everything is quite important and makes the differences.
If your girlfriend breaks up with you before your race run your bike, muscles and kit will do nothing for you. DH is a time trial just like an Olympic sprinter. Olympic athletes measure their performance and that measurement creates memories that the mind can build confidence and security.
The DH rig has a thousand ways to steal your confidence... a stop watch has none.
he's on Auto Cruise mode ....he told that during VDS world cup
I really don't believe your parents gave you the genes to be fast on a push bike or to git a small ball with a stick so it can fall into a hole better. Yes some people have better phisical or mental atributes but they don't correlate 1:1 with performance in given discipline. That's more a factor of experience and I really belive you theoretically could backtrack why Aaron or Hill are so fast.
@MRI production - I think Steave M. on Ridemonkey mentioned that he tested firmer suspension with some people and the average gain was quite a few seconds (5% avg. I think, though I'd have to look it up). That's very close to the margins Gwin wins with and he seems to be running harder suspension than most. The hard part is still keeping traction with it. Well that and your hands not exploding.
Anyway, great interview, the man is a legend. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he ends up with a career track record like Nico!
"It's possible to be successful with only hard work and training, but it's not possible to stay successful with only talent.."
well, yes 'n no, mostly no. Absolutely everyone from the WorldDH arena got trained, but the talented only have theirs name print on the covers.
Gwin is a machine!
Like it or not, he is out there to teach the new DH. It only took him a few years and if this is not Talent better become a Hindu.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQoM7_CKsZo
@IH
In Mountain Biking, most probably. In Porn..... not true.
Probably being on a run and mentally being in the zone also helps since he seems to go fast in all sections while other riders often comment about being more cautious on this or that part of the track.
To me mental skills is a whole another world to be worked on and to my understanding it's as or even more complicated than any technical skill that can be dismantled into specific parts to be worked on separately like let's say braking.
Anybody having any good tips?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_
Now... You know George Carlin? And his classification of people? Stupid, full of sht and nuts. I agree with that, there's lot of true in it. James is often said to
be full of sht, so you better be nuts...
The fact that Gwin went from being a top ten placer to miles ahead of the circuit in one year tells you that its mostly coaching. I would put money down that Tomac is the leading factor in Gwin's success.
"When you look at Pietermaritzburg back to back with Val di Sole, two completely different tracks, and the number one and two guys are still Greg and Aaron. Any downhiller that's out there that's saying 'Oh, this course doesn't really suit me,' then they're in the wrong sport."
Capt. 23 telling it like it is.
I mean it's not like you just used the @ or anything.
At the weekend, he was slower on the top section, slower on the motorway, and slow past us in the woods compared to others (Josh 9s, Gwin >11s on the tricky woods section that caught many out) but at the end of the day, there are other sections where he must be very fast, calculating on what he does and where he does it.
It would not surprise me if he understands his suspension, so when something does not work he knows exactly what to change to sort it out.
Gee struggled in the woods in practice, changes were made to his bike at the bottom, but for the worst, as he was slow through the woods, nearly crashing twice. If he had made the changes on track and pushed back up to test them on that section he may have not last vital time in the woods.
haha - just kidding. Hard work is the correct answer.
It's boring, but it works. For a reality TV show I'd take Ratboy and CG, but I'll take Gwin for the win.
But all it may take is some serious adversity to change that, hopefully not, or maybe he's so mentally tough that it wouldn't matter. Serious adversity did however affect Sam Hill in a significant way during a similar, if not even more impressive, run of dominance...
As for comparing him to some of the greats from other sports, I think that's premature. Certainly he's got the potential to go that way in the next ten years in terms of results, but comparing him to Rossi, Woods or Senna? Not so fast boys! Rossi has nine world titles to his name. How many majors has Woods had in a career spanning about 20 years? Gwin needs to do his time before you start bandying names about.
Say what you like about Palmer, but his image sold bikes. Rossi is the biggest thing to ever happen to two wheeled sports, a PR dream. The most charismatic, the most skillful, quick witted, funny, charming, not ugly. That is what sells bikes and that's what this circus is all about really.
I'm not bashing Gwin's riding, he is awesome to watch, a real force of nature.
He needs all the help he can get in terms of being marketable though. He should ask Tomac for some tips. How did Litsky manage to convert (!) a puritanical, clean living Lutheran into "The Tomes"? Whatever personality coaching Tomac received, he should school Gwin in the same. When I was watching Tomac when I first got into bikes at age 11, I thought he was the coolest, wildest man alive. I couldn't believe it when I read interviews with him that said he didn't drink or smoke and that he actually prays. Whatever floats your boat, believe in that if you want but that isn't going to ignite the passion of a million race fans the world over. Pulling sick whips and hanging it out (and demonstrating that you are fallible) is how to win an army of fans. Being handsome, charming and witty helps too.
Good luck with it Aaron. I want to like you but you're not making it easy for me!
BUT -
if it's meaningful to Gwin why does it matter which religion he chooses, or that he has chosen any religion?
I think what he is likely to get from his religion is a sense of peace about what is within his control and what is not. Some people can achieve that peace without religion or a spiritual perspective. Others use a variety of tools that include myth, legend, fantasy -- why should we care?
I never get the sense that Aaron Gwin is trying to convert people by referring to God. He strikes me as honest and not promoting any religion. He's thanking what and whom he believes he should thank. It's not that different from other riders mentioning coaches, mechanics, sponsors.
aaron will continue to dominate BECAUSE of his mental approach to racing dh
Really?
The Force.
DUH!
The moto experience is especially big and relevant when layered on top of a childhood racing BMX.
It's pretty much an ideal combination for learning the dynamics of handling 2-wheelers.
On that background -- how can it be overplayed? What weight should it be given? Less than you're seeing?
His youth riding and racing demanding 2-wheelers (BMX and MX motos) explains a lot about how he "suddenly" knew how to ride DH bikes at a good clip. I can't think of a better background. Maybe add alpine ski racing in the winters, focused on GS - SG - DH.
Bottom line is this, its a good time to be a race fan.
What I can't tell from the computer screen end of things -- not being there to see practice -- how much of his gaps in speed/time are from his line selection? Is he cagey in practice? Does he race a radically different line than he practices?
He looks so comfortable at that blitzing speed. Definitely reminds me of Sam Hill and of Nico.
1. the top rider talks to jesus on a regular basis
2. People are not focusing on afterpartys and being "cowboys" anymore.
whats next? heart rate monitors and people weighing their food?
You think 'afterpartys' help racers be faster?
And as far as his faith is concerned, I'm not even going to try to argue on that. If you don't have it, you wouldn't understand.